I remember playing exactly one game, out of the blue, against the vice-captain of a high-school club in Austin. This was the first time since I started Go. As he told me afterwards, he was playing his best game.

I forced him to resign quite early in the middle game.

I had no ongoing threats and no material advantage, and the board looked rather even. The difference was that I was reading every line of play around ten moves deep all the while setting it up, and my last move was a simple pawn advance. My opponent was strong enough to realize there was simply nothing he could do to gain the upper hand. I myself saw only two 7-8 move sequences that ended right back into an equal position. Everything else ended in disaster for him.

I will never play such chess again. I was simply in a state of awesomeness that day. I don't have the faintest idea why.

Unlike John Fairbairn, I had a very weak grasp on the concepts of Go and had very strong reading that simply translated straight into chess. The 8x8 squares grid with a limited number of moving pieces made it really easy in comparison. My only thoughts were about positional pressure, and there it was on the chessboard.

I love to brag about this game, and it was an elating experience. Sorry if I bored you with all my self-glorifying.